LANDSCAPE GARDENING 
257 
and carried out designs in the same style. As, however, men 
had now begun to find out Brown’s mistakes, and reflect on 
his destruction of old places and historical relics, Repton 
could scarcely venture to suggest such sweeping alterations as 
Brown had made. Repton was openly an opponent of those 
who wrote against Brown, yet their ideas evidently influenced 
his judgment. He did not always alter all he found at a 
place, before commencing additions, and he did not entirely 
confine himself to the “ landscape ” style. He maintained 
that a “ Flower garden should be an object detached and 
distinct from the general scenery of the place ; and whether 
large or small, whether varied or formal, it ought to be pro¬ 
tected from hares and smaller animals by an inner fence ; 
within this enclosure rare plants of every description should 
be encouraged, and provision made of soil, and aspect for every 
different class. Beds of bog earth should be prepared for the 
American plants : the aquatic plants, some of which are 
peculiarly beautiful, should grow on the surface or near the 
edges of water. The numerous class of rock-plants should 
have beds of rugged stone provided, without the affectation 
of such stones being the natural production of the soil; but, 
above all, there should be poles or hoops for those kind of 
creeping plants which spontaneously form themselves into 
graceful festoons when encouraged and supported by art .” 1 
Such was Repton’s idea of a flower-garden, but that was to 
form but a small portion of the design, and its very existence 
seemed to him to require an apology. He boasts that he had 
“ frequently been the means of restoring acres of useless 
garden to the deer or sheep, to which they more properly 
belong,” yet he sometimes designed a small formal garden for 
flowers. The “ Dutch garden ” at He well Grange was made 
according to his suggestions . 2 It is a semicircle, surrounded by 
a cut Thuja hedge, and a high brick wall across the line of the 
arc. The beds within are edged with box, between which are 
small gravel paths tiled in the middle, and a sundial stands 
in the centre. He also designed the lawn and rock- 
garden, while an older French garden, approached by cut yew 
1 Repton, Observations on Landscape Gardening, 1803. 
2 MS. “ Red Book ” by Repton, belonging to the Earl of Plymouth. 
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